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Carry On Laughing
: ''This article describes the all-original 1975 TV series. Not to be confused with the later "Carry On" film-clip compilations or the stage play of the same name''. ''Carry On Laughing'' is a British television comedy series produced in 1975 for ATV. Based on the ''Carry On'' films, it was an attempt to address the films' declining cinema attendance by transferring the franchise to television. Many of the original cast members were featured in the series. ''Carry on Laughing'' ran for two series, the first for six half-hour episodes and the second for seven episodes. The episode ''Orgy and Bess'' featured the final ''Carry On'' performances of both Sid James and Hattie Jacques. The TV series is not as widely known as the original films, which - by contrast - are broadcast regularly on British television. Production The series was conceived after the departures of two long-serving ''Carry On'' contributors: writer Talbot Rothwell and actor Charles Hawtrey. Furthermore, Ken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carry On Laughing (stage Show)
The ''Carry On'' series is a long-running British sequence of comedy films, stage shows and television programmes produced between 1958 and 1992. Distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated from 1958 to 1966, and the Rank Organisation from 1967 to 1978, the films were all made at Pinewood Studios. The series' humour relied largely on innuendo and double entendre. There were thirty-one films, four TV Christmas specials, one television series of thirteen episodes, and three West End and provincial stage plays, all made on time and to a strict budget. Peter Rogers and Gerald Thomas were the series' sole producer and director respectively. They mostly employed the same crew and a regular group of actors. The main cast predominantly featured Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Jack Douglas and Jim Dale. The ''Carry On''s comprise the largest number of films of any British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Associated Television
Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and to the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982. It was one of the " Big Four" until 1968, and the "Big Five" after 1968, that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes. In 1982, ATV was restructured and rebranded as Central Independent Television, under which name it continued to provide the service for the Midlands. ATV was awarded its first franchise by the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide the Independent Television service at weekends for the London region. This service started on Saturday, 24 September 1955, the second ITA franchise to go on air, and was extended until Sunday, 28 July 1968. ATV was also awarded the franchise to provide the weekdays Independent Television service for the Midlands region ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Prisoner Of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order for the king to retain the crown, his coronation must proceed. Fortuitously, an English gentleman on holiday in Ruritania who resembles the monarch is persuaded to act as his political decoy in an effort to save the unstable political situation of the interregnum. A sequel, ''Rupert of Hentzau'', was published in 1898 and is included in some editions of ''The Prisoner of Zenda''. The popularity of the novels inspired the Ruritanian romance genre of literature, film, and theatre that features stories set in a fictional country, usually in Central or Eastern Europe,John Clute and John Grant, ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', p. 826 for example Graustark from the novels of George Barr McCutcheon, and the neighbouring countries of Syldavia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaw Taylor
Eric Stanley Taylor (26 October 1924 – 17 March 2015), known professionally as Shaw Taylor, was a British actor and television presenter, best known for presenting the long-running five-minute crime programme ''Police 5''. Early life and career Taylor served in the RAF and trained at RADA. He then acted on stage in the West End and on tour. He was an announcer for Associated TeleVision (ATV) when the normal announcer was not available. He then had a variety of acting roles in film and television from the 1950s onwards, and presented various game shows including ''Password (UK game show), Password'', ''Tell the Truth (UK game show), Tell the Truth'', ''Dotto'', ''This Is Your Chance'' and ''The Law Game'' (BBC Radio 2). In the early 1960s, Taylor and Muriel Young co-hosted a music programme on Radio Luxembourg, ''The Friday Spectacular''. Between 1960 and 1962, Taylor presented the quiz show ''Pencil and Paper''. In 1970, Taylor was the original presenter of the ''Clunk Cli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV Series)
''Upstairs, Downstairs'' is a British television drama series produced by London Weekend Television (LWT) for ITV. It ran for 68 episodes divided into five series on ITV from 1971 to 1975. Set in a large townhouse at 165, Eaton Place in Belgravia in central London, the series depicts the servants—"downstairs"—and their masters, the family—"upstairs"—between the years 1903 and 1930, and shows the slow decline of the British aristocracy. Great events feature prominently in each episode but minor or gradual changes are also noted. The show may be regarded as a document of the social and technological changes that occurred during those 27 years, including the Edwardian period, women's suffrage, the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, and the Wall Street Crash. It was a ratings success for ITV and received outstanding acclaim worldwide, winning multiple awards. A BBC Wales and ''Masterpiece''-produced continuation, ''Upstairs Downstairs'', was broadcast by BBC One in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Peter Wimsey
Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries for his own amusement, Wimsey is an archetype for the British gentleman detective. He is often assisted by his valet and former batman, Mervyn Bunter; by his good friend and later brother-in-law, police detective Charles Parker; and, in a few books, by Harriet Vane, who becomes his wife. Biography Background Born in 1890 and ageing in real time, Wimsey is described as being of average height, with straw-coloured hair, a beaked nose, and a vaguely foolish face. Reputedly his looks are patterned after those of academic and poet Roy Ridley, whom Sayers briefly met after witnessing him read his Newdigate Prize-winning poem "Oxford" at the Encaenia ceremony in July 1913. Wimsey also possesses considerable intelligence and athletic ability, evid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Vosburgh
Richard Kennedy Vosburgh (27 August 1929 – 18 April 2007) was a Grammy-nominated, Tony-nominated American-born comedy writer and lyricist working chiefly in Britain. Early life Vosburgh was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He persuaded his father to let him study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (where he met his future wife, Beryl Roques) and won the Comedy Acting prize. He was soon writing for BBC Radio, starting with scripts for Bernard Braden in 1953. Career In the 60s he moved from radio to television, writing (and occasionally performing onscreen) on television comedy shows like ''The Frost Report'', ''That Was The Week That Was'', '' We Have Ways of Making You Laugh'', ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'', ''At Last The 1948 Show'' and ''How To Irritate People''. On all these shows Vosburgh worked alongside members of what was to be Monty Python and he formed lasting friendships with them. He later appeared on one episode of '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'' as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Cryer
Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory Bremner, George Burns, Jasper Carrott, Tommy Cooper, Ronnie Corbett, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Kenny Everett, Bruce Forsyth, David Frost, Bob Hope, Frankie Howerd, Richard Pryor, Spike Milligan, Mike Yarwood, ''The Two Ronnies'' and Morecambe and Wise. Early life Cryer was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to John Cryer, an accountant, who died when Barry was five, and his wife, Jean. After an education at Leeds Grammar School, he began studying English literature at the University of Leeds. He later described himself as a university dropout: "I was supposed to be studying English Literature at Leeds, but I was in the bar and chasing girls and my first-year results showed it. So I'm 'BA Eng. Lit. failed' of Leeds." Career Cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Freeman (British Writer)
David Freeman (22 August 1922 – 28 March 2005) was a British film and television writer, working chiefly in comedy. He was one of the first generation of writers who established television, taking over from radio, as the most popular medium for comedy. His works were known for their usage of puns and double entendre. During the small screen's Golden Age, he wrote scripts for comedians including Benny Hill, Tony Hancock, Ted Ray, Terry Scott, Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes, Peter Sellers, Charlie Drake, Arthur Askey, Sid James, Leslie Crowther, Roy Hudd, Jimmy Edwards, Tommy Cooper, Harry Worth and Frankie Howerd. Early life Dave Freeman was born in Marylebone, London. He trained as an electrician before joining the Royal Naval Fleet Air Arm at the outbreak of the Second World War. His service with the Pacific fleet took him to Ceylon, India, South Africa, Kenya and finally Australia where he met and married his wife, Alberta. Upon return to England in 1946, he joined the Metrop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films, and appeared in many British television programmes and radio comedies, including series with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne, as well as being a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's comedy panel show ''Just a Minute'' from its second series in 1968 until his death 20 years later. Williams grew up in Central London in a working-class family; he claimed his father spoke cockney. He served in the Royal Engineers during World War II, where he first became interested in becoming an entertainer. After a short spell in repertory theatre as a serious actor, he turned to comedy and achieved national fame in ''Hancock's Half Hour''. He sustained continued success throughout the 1960s and 1970s with his regular app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Hawtrey (actor Born 1914)
George Frederick Joffre Hartree (30 November 1914 – 27 October 1988), known as Charles Hawtrey, was an English actor, comedian, singer, pianist and theatre director. Beginning at an early age as a boy soprano, he made several records before moving on to radio. His later career encompassed the theatre (as both actor and director), the cinema (where he regularly appeared supporting Will Hay in the 1930s and 1940s in films such as ''The Ghost of St. Michael's''), through the ''Carry On'' films, and television. Life and career Early life Born in Hounslow, Middlesex, England in 1914, to William John Hartree (1885–1952) and his wife Alice (née Crow) (1880–1965), of 217 Cromwell Road, as George Frederick Joffre Hartree, he took his stage name from the theatrical knight, Sir Charles Hawtrey, and encouraged the suggestion that he was his son. However, his father was actually a London car mechanic. Following study at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in Lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talbot Rothwell
Talbot Nelson Conn “Tolly” Rothwell, OBE (12 November 1916 – 28 February 1981) was an English screenwriter. Life and career Rothwell was born in Bromley, Kent, England. He had a variety of jobs during his early life: town clerk, police officer, and Royal Air Force pilot. He was made a prisoner of war during World War II after being shot down over Norway. It was during this period, while incarcerated in Stalag Luft III, that he started to write. Peter Butterworth was in the same camp and the two became firm friends, with Rothwell mostly writing and Butterworth performing for camp concerts. This helped to relieve the boredom of camp life and the noise of the concerts helped cover tunnelling escape efforts. After World War II Rothwell took up writing as his profession, writing scripts for The Crazy Gang, Arthur Askey, Ted Ray and Terry-Thomas. His hit play ''Queen Elizabeth Slept Here'' ran for 349 performances at the Strand Theatre in London's West End. By the tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
